BALTIMORE – Coppin State's volleyball team heads north to Delaware State University on Friday for a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) regular season match at 7:00 p.m.
Friday night's match is the first challenge of the weekend as the Eagles return home to face Howard University on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. inside the Auxiliary Gym.
Coppin State (8-9, 2-2 MEAC North) is coming off a weekend characterized by strength and determination. The Eagles showed impressive perseverance against Maryland Eastern Shore to overcome a 2-1 deficit and win the last two sets to secure the victory (25-17, 17-25, 21-25, 25-22, 15-10).
Although the team was victorious, there were other individual successes to celebrate as well. Junior setter
Chelsee Sauni's match-high 48 assists cemented her place in Coppin State history, becoming the all-time leader in assists. She now has 2,505 career assists, surpassing Krystal Williams' total of 2,497. Sauni stands second in the MEAC with 699 assists on the season thus far. Her mark also has her ranked 61st nationally in assists per set and 38th in total assists.
Senior
Ariel Richard had a match-high 19 kills against UMES, bringing her career total to 1,110. Junior
Cindy Okpegbue added 13 kills and
Kandace Thomas had nine kills with a .421 hitting percentage.
Gabrielle Otero paced the defense with 21 digs while
Kendra Ireigbe tallied five blocks.
Delaware State (0-13, 0-3 MEAC) dropped a 3-0 decision to Morgan State on Sunday. Jasmine Jackson led the Hornets with eight kills and Ayanna Lee had 10 digs in the 25-20, 25-23, 25-16 loss. The Hornets will take on Rider University Wednesday night before hosting the Eagles this weekend. For the season, Jackson leads the Hornets with 140 kills (3.04 kills per set). Taylor Marshall (183 assists) and Natalia Mendiata (140) are the Hornet's primary setters.
Coppin State swept last year's meetings between the two teams. The last time CSU visited Memorial Hall in Dover, the Eagles won in three sets (25-21, 25-16, 25-18).
Denali Sturgeon paced the Eagles with a match-high 16 kills. Richard recorded 10 kills and 11 digs. Sauni finished with a match-high 40 assists.
Jasmine Burton and
Nicole Malave-Adams each had 11 digs. For the Hornets, Jackson had 10 kills and four digs. Taylor Marshall contributed 21 assists.
Looking ahead to Sunday's contest, Howard (9-9, 2-1 MEAC) experienced its first conference loss of the season, falling 3-1 to Hampton in four sets. Howard was picked second in the MEAC preseason poll and advanced to the conference semifinals last season.
After returning from an injury, Assata Conway topped the Bison with 13 kills, eight blocks, and seven assists. Katherine Broussard delivered a match-high 19 digs along with 10 kills. Khaila Donaldson contributed 12 digs and 10 kills. The Bison start their weekend road trip at Norfolk State on Friday night before heading to Baltimore for Sunday's match.
As a team, Howard leads the MEAC in digs (14.42 per set), blocks (2.14) and opponents hitting percentage (.176). Conway is the Bison's leading hitter with a .241 percentage. Donaldson has 230 kills to lead Howard.
The Eagles split a pair of meetings against Howard last season. Coppin State was victorious in three sets (25-21, 25-18, 25-21) over the Bison last November in the teams' last meeting against each other. Okpegbue led Coppin with 11 kills. Otero had a match-high 17 digs and Sauni finished with 36 assists. Dominique Clegget had nine kills and Stephanie Shultis tallied 22 assists for Howard. Morgan Marlbrough and Allyson Lods each finished with 10 digs, 15 and 11, respectively.
As a team, Howard leads the MEAC in digs (14.42 per set), blocks (2.14) and opponents hitting percentage (.176). Conway is the Bison's leading hitter with a .241 percentage. Donaldson has 230 kills to lead Howard.
Following this weekend's matches, Coppin State will enjoy a week off and return to action to host Morgan State Sunday, Oct. 19 at 3:00 p.m.
